


Rehabilitation

by isopoded



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: A/A, Addiction, Angst, Awkward Flirting, Canon, Death, Drug Abuse, F/M, Fluff, Gangs, Graphic Scenes, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, POV, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Spoilers, Teenage Rebellion, The occasional NSFW scene, Unhealthy Relationships, Work In Progress, railroad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-13 13:01:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5709124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isopoded/pseuds/isopoded
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before the war, Ramona was finally settling down. Following an adolescence full of petty crime, small town gangs, and the occasional dabble in narcotics, it was a relief to finally settle down with an honest man, in the suburbs, with her newborn son. </p><p>Ramona spent many years turning her life around, but her nights were often spent wondering how her life could be with a little more excitement, just like the old times. However, she soon finds herself in a situation full of more excitement, fear, and adventure, than she could have ever bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pondering

High-pitched crying awoke me that day.

  
Dragging myself out of my bed, I halfheartedly pulled at the curtains, allowing the light to pour into my bedroom. Sunlight always agitated Nate. _Our_ bedroom.

He rolls back over, before his body appears to go limp yet again. I sighed, loud enough that I hoped he would hear my discontent, of being the one to sort out the baby, again.

I looked to my right to see my alarm clock, displaying “06.04” in luminous green digits. The amount of sunlight flooding our bedroom was slightly unusual for late October.

“Well, at least it’s not raining.” I laugh quietly to myself.

 Despite the sunlight, it was still a little cold. I walk over to my closet, and wrap myself in a robe. It was incredibly soft against my slightly rough skin. Nate neglecting his parental duties had resulted in me losing some precious me-time. I hadn’t exfoliated as much as I would have liked. Although, no amount of soft skin could bring me the same levels of joy as holding my son. My Shaun.

Opening my door, I was greeted by Codsworth.

“Miss Ramona, I’ve tried everything. He doesn’t wish to be fed, nor changed, nor played with. I believe he may be in need of some motherly love that you’re so great at giving.”

  
I smiled, and thanked him. It’s nice to have someone who helps out around the house. Even if that person was a robot. He was a person to me, and I probably couldn’t have managed acclimatizing to motherhood without him.

I push open Shaun’s door, and walk towards the crib. He had good lungs, of that I was certain; I lifted him up and cradled him in my arms, humming a quiet lullaby, and rocking him in my arms, like a rowing boat would sway in a gentle sea. Within minutes, he was no longer crying, and he was falling back into blissful sleep. I placed him back into his crib as gently as I could manage. The chair on the right wall of his room looked inviting. I sink into it, listening to the small, rhythmic breaths of my son, and I too, fall into a light slumber.

I was awoken by the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I look around, unsure of how much time has passed. Shaun was still asleep, but the recognizable sound of Nate’s footsteps was audible. I get up, and quietly walk back to our bedroom, hoping not to disturb Shaun’s sleep.

The luminous green digits on the alarm clock now read “10.19”. I was a little taken aback over how I’d managed 4 hours of sleep in a wooden chair, but it was definitely now time to seize the day. Another day of being a wife, another day of being a mother.

I was unsure if it was the post-awakening delirium, but I sighed at the thought. Another day of being nothing but a housewife. I’m 23, in a nice house, with an honest husband and a beautiful son, but I couldn’t help but long for the life I had left behind.

There wasn’t much in the way of organized crime in such a small town, but as a teenager, I’d roamed with any gang of delinquents I could find. We’d joyride in stolen cars, break and enter into homes on a few occasions, steal from the stores downtown. Every now and then, I’d fuck a guy for some mentats, or roll with a new “gang” for some Med-X. I was never addicted, I didn’t get my hands on enough to form an addiction. But the high was something I used to live for. That feeling of being invincible, doing things I knew I shouldn’t be doing, having the world at my fingertips. I thought I was unstoppable.

I sigh, again, knocking myself out of it. I romanticized my past all too often. I know now that I was on an incredibly slippery slope. It wasn’t often that a teenage tyrant got a second chance. I’ve seen a few of the people I used to roll with in horrible states, selling themselves for a fix of Psycho, or awaiting trial for aggravated assault, caused by nothing more than simple withdrawal. Yet here I am, in a nice house, with a son, with a hardworking husband. I’m incredibly lucky. My life is the textbook definition of ideal. Living the American dream.

That didn’t stop me wishing for more, though.


	2. Escape

I open my closet, occupying my mind by picking out which clothes to wear for the day. I opt for some powder blue tailored slacks and a perfectly ironed pastel peach shirt. Codsworth truly did an incredible job when it came to preparing laundry.

Taking the hairbrush off the top of my dresser, I walk into the bathroom. The mundane tasks of washing my face and brushing my teeth are completed absent mindedly. I dab my face dry with the closest towel, and look at myself in the cabinet mirror.

I look exhausted.

 I open the cabinet and take out some cosmetics, and conceal my dark circles and a few blemishes caused by not taking care of my skin as well as I should. As I put the small pouch of makeup back in the cabinet, Nate walks into the bathroom. I see his figure approaching me in the mirror.

“You haven’t aged a day since we met.” He smiles at me, and places a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. I acknowledge the compliment by flashing him a grin, but continue to focus on my beauty regime.

I take the hairbrush off the side of the sink and begin working on untangling the knots in my dark brown hair. It’s only shoulder length, but it still somehow manages to get incredibly tangled. I take my time, brush it out, all the time being watched by my fascinated husband. After 2 or 3 minutes, it was manageable, and I use my hands to play with it, make it fall how I want it to. My natural wave was more than enough to satisfy me. It was almost elegant.

Nate watched everything I did as if I was alien, with a childlike curiosity about him. It was plain to see that he was in love with me, with our family. He was a good man.

I finish up and walk into the front room to grab a cup of the coffee, the same coffee whose fumes had awoken me less than half an hour ago. It would be perfectly brewed by now.

I sit on the sofa in front of the television with my husband. Codsworth places two cups of coffee onto the side table. I nod in appreciation, and turn to face Nate.

“What’s the plan for today?” I try to sound optimistic.

“Well, it’s nearly Halloween and we haven’t sorted out Shaun’s costume yet. We could nip into the city and get that done.” Nate replied.

“What about going to the park? Look at how brilliant the weather is. It’s October 23rd and the sun is shining like it could be July.”

Nate chuckled softly, admitting defeat.

“Well, okay, but only if-“

The doorbell’s obnoxiously loud chime interrupted him.

I get up, walk over to the door, and peep over to see who it is. I see a very smiley man in a tan trench coat, holding a clipboard. He was a salesman if ever I saw one. I was curious on what idea or product he would be trying to sell me, so I opened the door, returning his wide smile.

“Good morning! Vault Tec calling!”

This man was far too happy. He must be new to the job.

“Vault Tec? Remind me again.”

“Why, we’re about you maam! Your future. You see, Vault Tec is the foremost builder of state of the art underground fallout shelters. Vaults, if you will.”

I was slightly taken aback. Most salespeople who came to our door were trying to sell us insurance, or promote their charity, or people who wanted us to subscribe to mundane newspapers or magazines. A fallout shelter was slightly more out there to what we were usually faced with. I was genuinely intrigued.

“Luxury accommodations where you can wait out the horrors of nuclear devastation. You don’t know how happy I am to finally see you. I’ve been trying for days. It’s a matter of utmost urgency, I assure you.”

“What’s so important?” I ask. I failed to see how a fallout shelter was of _utmost urgency_ to me right now.

“Why, nothing less than your entire future! If you haven’t noticed, this country has gone to heck and a handbasket.”

He was right. Tensions between us and other nations were at an all-time high.

“If you’ll excuse my language, the big kaboom! It’s... it’s inevitable! And coming sooner than you may think. Catch my meaning? I know you’re a busy woman so I won’t take up much of your time, time being a... a precious commodity, but I’m here to tell you that because of your family’s service to our country, you’ve been selected for entrance to the local vault, vault 111.”

“Sounds great!”

“Oh it is, believe me. Now, you’re already cleared for entrance in the unforeseen event of...”

He cleared his throat.

“Total atomic annihilation.  Heh. Now I just need to verify some information, that’s all.”

“Hah. Now I can’t wait for the world to end.” I try to break the tension.

“That’s the spirit!”

He proceeded to take my personal details, name, family details, dates, and so on. It only took a few moments. And what are a few moments, to gain peace of mind for your family if the worse should happen?

After saying my goodbyes, I shut the door and regained my spot on the sofa next to Nate.

“Hey, it’s peace of mind. That’s worth a little paperwork right?”

“For you and Shaun, no price is too high.”

Within seconds, I hear the unmistakable sound of Shaun crying. I get up to sort him out. No bother asking Nate to do it.

I walk to his room, and cradle him in my arms. I rock him at the same pace I did earlier this morning, my go-to move for calming him down. It took longer than usual, but within 10 minutes, he was fast asleep again. Watching him be so peaceful was therapeutic. I truly loved him, with every beat of my heart.

“Miss Ramona? I think you should see this.” Codsworth’s voice was much louder than usual. I worried he might have awoken Shaun, but he seemed undisturbed. I walk into the front room to see both Codsworth and Nate staring at the television.

“Followed by… yes, followed by flashes. Blinding flashes. Sounds of explosions… We’re, we’re trying to get confirmation. But we seem to have lost contact with our affiliate stations.” The presenter’s voice was incredibly somber. I look at Nate, his face was draining of colour.

“We do have confirmed reports. I repeat, confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania.”

I look around. There’s ringing in my ears. This isn’t happening.

“We need to get to the vault. Now.” I say, sternly. “I’ll grab Shaun.

Nate holds the door open whilst I run and grab Shaun. He awoke abruptly. I was probably being too rough, but I wasn’t going to let my family die. Outside, there’s scenes of chaos. All of neighbours running in the same direction, crude signs and military personnel pointing us towards the vault. Everyone is running. People are crying. Some have even resorted to screaming.

At the checkpoint, there were a few soldiers, one in power armor, pointing a minigun at the civilians.

“But I am Vault tec!” I hear a man’s voice pleading with one of the soliders. It was the frieldly representative who I’d spoke to early. That man had essentially saved the life of our little family. I owed him.

“Your name isn’t on the list, you aren’t coming in.” The soldier was stern. I wanted to help, I wanted to get him let in, but we didn’t have time. I needed to ensure we would be okay.

“We’re on the list!” Nate shouted.

“Two adults, one infant. Yep, go ahead. You’ll be shown the way.”

We run in, following another member of the military who instructed us to stand on a huge metal platform. There aren’t many people on this platform, not compared to how many are still stood outside the checkpoint. I wonder what will become of them.

“That’s all of them, send it down.”

“Almost there. Is Shaun okay?” Nate asks me, his voice shaky.

“He’s fine, we’re going to be okay.” The same couldn’t be said for the mass of people left behind.

All of a sudden, there’s a blinding flash of light on the horizon. The biggest explosion I’ve ever seen. The loudest noise I've ever heard.

“NOW, NOW, SEND IT DOWN NOW!” one of the officers screamed. The epicenter of the explosion was growing, the sky was yellow, and a huge shockwave was travelling towards us at incredible speeds. I felt numb.

This was it.


	3. Acclimatising

I don’t think I had ever shut my eyes so tightly. My mind had completely went blank when I felt the shockwave. I was convinced I was dead. I was convinced my family was dead.

The only thing that brought me back to earth was Nate’s voice.

“We made it. We did it.”

I pry my eyes open, and I’m greeted with the sight of what must be Vault 111.

We were still stood on the platform, but encased by a metal blue cage. It was cold, all the lighting was artificial, and the steely surroundings didn’t make it feel like home, in any sense of the word. Although, I guessed that was what Vault 111 would be now. Home.

I’d just witnessed a nuclear strike with my own eyes, and although I felt lucky to be down here, to wait out any nuclear winter that was going to occur, I still didn’t want to stay here. Radiation doesn’t seep away in a few days.

 Reality was crashing over me like a tsunami. My son would never see the sun. He’d never play outside. He’d never play catch with Nate. Would I ever step outside again? Will living underground drive us crazy? There weren’t enough people around me to rebuild society. There were less than 10 of us altogether. This had to be long term, above ground would be too dangerous to even step outside for years. But, how could we survive long term with so few people? Sure, there were employees around us, I could make out the figures from behind the steel blue cage. But even then, I believed that these vaults would hold hundreds of people. This couldn’t work.

A huge panel of the cage directly in front of me lifted upwards.

“Would everyone please step off the elevator and proceed up the stairs in an orderly fashion?”

The man was clad in an obnoxiously bright blue jumpsuit, with a bulletproof vest over the top.

“No need to worry folks. We’ll get everyone situated in your new home, Vault 111! A better future, underground.”

It sounded rehearsed. But even those who worked for this Vault-Tec must have been afraid at the prospect of living underground. He hid it well. I assumed he was in charge down here.

“So... We just..?” One of my neighbours, Mr. Russell, gestured at the metal staircase ahead of us.

“Yes. Up the stairs.”

The security guard was wearing a similar blue jumpsuit. It must be standard down here.

“I can’t believe it… If we’d left a minute later…” Mr. Able’s voice sounded as though it was breaking. He was right. A few seconds later and we would have all died.

Again, my mind faltered back to the thought of all those people who were left at the checkpoint, who weren’t allowed in. The military personnel guiding people to the vaults would be dead. A lot of my neighbours would be dead. The rep who sold us this place would be dead. I felt lightheaded at the thought.

My family might be fine, but the vast majority of families wouldn’t be.

“No, no. Don’t get caught up thinking about that. You’re safe now.” Spoke the first man.

Safe? Maybe. This metal underground bunker could never be home, though. But anything was better than a nuclear warhead to the face.

“Everyone, just head up these stairs, and through the door.”

We were all eerily silent. All of us, deep in thought.

“Vault-Tec is here for you. All new residents, please proceed in an orderly fashion. Welcome home.” The female’s voice over the intercom left me unsettled. For a place that should be “home”, everything seemed a bit too rehearsed, a bit too strict. I tried not to form any ill-conceived judgements, and followed the line of people ahead of me.

There were many people pointing the way to us, all wearing the same blue jumpsuit, or a pristine white lab coat. I tried to make sense of it all, guess which person was doing what, but my mind was in shambles. I couldn’t concentrate on anything except following the person ahead of me.

I walk over to the table they pointed us to, and I was greeted by a smiling woman. How could she smile at a time like this? I wondered how long the employees had been down here already.

“Take your suit. You’ll need it!”

She hands me a bag with one of the blue jumpsuits inside. “111” is plastered in the back, in bright yellow. It wasn’t a fashion choice I’d usually go for.

“Thanks. What now?” I ask. She tells me to follow a doctor, so I turn to a man in a white lab coat, and begin following him down a steely metal corridor. He’s talking about how advanced this facility is, but my ears are tuned to the conversations of people around me.

“Our home… Everything we had is destroyed.”

“My mother and father down in DC, what if they didn’t make it?”

“How long will we be down here?”

The conversations abruptly stop as we reach a room full of large, mechanical pods. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The doctor tells us to put our suits on and step into one of the pods. I was hesitant, but I oblige.

“The pod will decontaminate you and depressurize you before we head deeper into the vault. Just relax.”

Makes sense, I suppose. I wonder how far underground we’d end up.

My fears are partially subsided, and I relax, just as the doctor told us to.

Nate is in the pod directly opposite me. He’s holding Shaun. I wave at him, and he waves back.

“Time for a whole new life.” I whisper to myself. It wasn’t a life I wanted. I wanted to be back in Sanctuary hills. I wanted to be holding my son. But instead, here I was, stood in a pod, underground, whilst my home got obliterated by nuclear bombs.

My chest feels tight. I start hyperventilating. I can’t handle the change.

“Resident sealed. Occupant vitals normal. Procedure complete in…”

 A computerized voice starts counting down, and everything goes white.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel kinda bad because this is a Hancock/F!SS fic and I'm like 4 chapters off introducing him, but I don't have the ability to produce short pieces of writing. I just can't do it. 
> 
> Updates should be super regular for now, because I'm getting way too excited about shit hitting the fan and finally being able to write some action. No more heavy dialogue! For a few chapters, anyway. 
> 
> Thank you everyone who's reading and stuff, it's so nice to be exploring a creative outlet and to see people actually enjoying what I produce <3


	4. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little shorter than normal but more is coming!
> 
> I do apologise for the delay, my personal life has been hectic the past few weeks. Pretty much sorted now though. 
> 
> Thank you for supporting me, I appreciate everyone who clicks on this. You're awesome. <3

When I came to, I was more confused than I’d ever been before.

My head was spinning, my lungs burned, and my limbs seemed foreign to me for a few seconds. I had no idea what was going on and I entered a state of panic. My memories flooded back to me, and I recalled the doctor mentioning a depressurization chamber. It’s not something I’ve ever came in contact with, but I felt like it was wrong. Depressurization couldn’t make someone feel like this. Everything felt wrong.

I look up to try and catch a glimpse of Shaun and Nate, to see if they were coming around too. My eyes take a second to focus normally, and I see two bodies ahead of my pod. Those bodies did not belong to my husband and my son.

A grown man and a woman were wandering ahead of me, appearing to be searching for something. 

The woman was petite. I couldn’t make out any defining features, as she was clad in a white environmental suit. The man with her wasn’t wearing any similar protective gear, and instead seemed to be wearing leather, with a gun strapped to his belt. He was bald, with cold eyes, and a very obvious facial scar. This man was not Vault Tec. 

This man, whoever he may be, was dangerous.

The lights in the room weren’t as bright as I remembered. Everything looked dull. I couldn't see any scientists, or vault personnel. The atmosphere was wrong.

“This is the one. Here.”

The woman gestures to Nate’s pod. My heart is racing.

“Open it.”

She uses the panel besides the pod, and it opens. Shaun’s crying filled my eardrums almost instantly. He needed me, and I was trapped here. Watching.

I use my heavy feeling limbs to bang on the window. I used all the energy I could muster. Nobody pays any attention. 

“We need this baby alive.” The man’s tone is deep. It resonates within me. I’m hyperventilating, fixed to the spot, watching the woman in the white suit try and pull Shaun out of Nate’s arms. Nate is fighting back, exclaiming that he has Shaun, trying to pull our son from the clutches of this strange person. I try again to bang on the window, to no avail.

“Let the boy go. I’m only gonna tell you once.”

That deep, evil voice is sending shivers down my spine. He unholsters the pistol at his hip and points it straight at Nate. Nate pays no attention and carries on trying to get our son back.

"I'm not giving you Shaun!"

Time almost seems to slow for a second when the man shoots. Directly into Nate’s neck. He died instantly.

I lose my breath. The woman easily removes my husband’s cold, dead hands from our son. My eyes are so wide I feel as though my skin will rip apart. The man gestures at the woman to leave, before walking up to the glass on my pod and stares at me. The scar on his face covers his left eye. I focus on trying to absorb his features in my mind. Trying to preoccupy my mind. My ears were ringing, and my chest was tight. My husband’s lifeless body was directly behind him. My son was gone.

The nuclear war seemed like bliss compared to the war within my mind.

“At least we still have the backup.”

And then, everything went white once more.

I welcomed it.


	5. Discerning

I wasn’t quite sure if I was alive or not for a few seconds.

I struggle for breath, and look around. My limbs are stiff. I feel like shit.

Within moments, all the memories come flooding back to me. I fall out of the metal pod, pull myself together, and prepare to fight the threatening looking bald man. However, he was gone. No sign of him. No sign of the woman in the protective suit, either. All I can see is Nate. Nate’s lifeless body. Nate’s cold, dead hands. Hands that weren’t holding our son.

A wave of emotion crashes over me. I try to piece together everything that had happened.

“I’ll find whoever did this. I promise.”

I sheepishly remove Nate’s wedding ring off his corpse and push it into my pocket. It felt wrong. It felt so fucking wrong. But I didn’t have time to think about the details. I need to escape this vault. I need to leave.

I walk down the corridor, looking into each of the other pods, seeing if there was anyone else who were waking up. They were all dead. Every one of them.

I try to reason that the chill that creeped down my spine was due to the fact I’d just unfrozen.

“Critical failure in cryogenic array. All vault residents must evacuate immediately.”

The robotic voice over the intercom didn’t need to tell me twice. I turn towards the door and try to look for a way out.

Walking through metal corridors, surrounded by dead people in cryogenic pods, hundreds of feet underground, felt unreal. I felt dissociated, there was no way all this could be happening. My mind was working overtime.

How long had it been since the bombs fell? Would everyone have rebuilt? Would I die from radiation poisoning without one of the suits I had seen the strange woman wear? Who was still alive?  
No. I needed to stay focused.

“Hello? Anyone?” I cry out, in hope someone might still be here. No response.

  
I move swiftly through the corridors, through the steel sliding doors. On a window to my right, I can see another room full of pods. On the window, there was what looks like a giant cockroach. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I was never an insect person.

  
Luckily it was on the other side of the glass, and I continue my journey for the exit.

There was a small room on my left, containing unused office furniture. Empty. Again.

  
Next to the computer, there was a stimpak. I’d seen enough of these before the bombs fell to know I’d need them. I had no idea how hazardous it would be once I left the eerily empty vault.

I open another sliding metal door. I’m greeted with one of the mutated cockroaches.

Instinctively, I pulled my arms up, making two fists, and I lunged at it. It was probably the size of a cat, and I punched it with all the force I could muster.

It died instantly, leaving yellowish brown strings of some form of bodily liquid on my hands. I wipe them on my vault suit and breathe deeply.

Another one comes out of an attached room, and lunges at me. I lunge back at it. It meets the same fate as its friend.

The room it ran out of seemed like actual living quarters. A bathroom, a kitchen, some bunk beds. I was confused. Why weren’t we taken to this section of the vault? Why were we frozen?

I didn’t have time to think. I need to carry on.

I leave the confusing living space, and go through the next door. There was a huge machine, a generator I’m assuming, spewing piercing blue bolts of electricity in every direction. I opt to use the walkways around the outer sides of the room. Three more mutated roaches try to attack me. Three more mutated roaches are killed.

On the floor, near the roach carcasses, there’s a fully decomposed skeleton, wearing the same distinctive jumpsuit I was wearing. There was no signs of any tissue on him. He’d been dead a while.

Just how long had I been frozen?

I muster up all the willpower I can to bring myself to open the next door. So much had changed.  
It opens, I carry on, and I send another pair of roaches to oblivion. Punching overgrown insects and making them die was quite therapeutic. I wonder how other things will have mutated.

The next room obviously belonged to someone important. The Overseer, from the looks of things. His desk had a few useful items. 3 more stimpaks would come in handy. The 10mm pistol and box of ammo beside it would probably come even more in handy.

When I meet that bald, evil man, I don’t plan on just having a civil debate.

I equip the already loaded gun and hold it in my right hand, getting a feel of the weight. I run my fingers lightly across the trigger. I was going to get to know this pistol very well.

A cabinet in the corner catches my eye. It contained a pretty huge rifle. I could probably jimmy it open if I had the skill. My lockpicking abilities were average at best. It had been a while since I used my less desirable skills.

I rummage through the office cabinets, trying to find anything that would help me. I find a bobby pin. I could use that to bust open locks that weren’t as tight. I push it into my pocket. I find myself grabbing even the most basic of items, lighters and tools, in a hope that I could find a way to make them aid my journey. A couple of cabinets contained money. I wasn’t sure if there would even be a currency once I got outside.

The sliding door wouldn’t open. I look around for a solution.

The terminal on the desk caught my eye. I wander over to it, trying to ignore the skeleton at my feet. Surely enough, the overseer’s terminal allowed me to unlock the escape tunnel. There was other information on there too. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know about it. I just want to leave.

The escape tunnel was full of huge roaches. Using both hands, I aim my pistol at them. Target practice, I guess. My aim left a lot to be desired, but after 11 rounds, the roaches were dead. I’ll improve, with time.

When I got to the next room, I lost my breath a little. I could see the huge metal plate covering my escape. I shoot another couple of roaches, then stare. It was so close. The control panel required a pipboy to work. I almost lose hope until I notice the skeleton besides me is wearing one. I try to lift the pipboy away from the skeleton, although the lower portion of the arm comes away with it. I shudder a little, then fasten the pipboy around my wrist.

It takes a moment to turn on. I stare at the green display in awe for a second, before attaching it to the control panel. I press a button, and it begins.

“Vault door cycling sequence initiated. Please stand back.”

Hydraulic noises fill the room, as the vault door starts to open.

I can’t believe it actually worked. I can’t believe I’m gonna see the outside world.

I felt both excited, and terrified. Who’s to say I would even survive a minute out there? I had no idea what would greet me. Sure, I had my little pistol. I could protect myself a little. But what would I be protecting myself against?

The door is pulled away and a metal bridge allows me across. The bright light is blinding, but I’m greeted with the familiar sight of the platform I came into this hell on. The steel cage lifts.

I walk towards it, trying to ignore the conflicts going on in my mind, and I brace myself.

I breathe deeply. It started to rise up to the surface.

I was as ready as I’ll ever be.


	6. Renewal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been months, I do apologise, 2016 fucked me in ways I couldn't even comprehend but I'm here now. Celebration time.

After what felt like a lifetime with my eyes closed, I felt a warmth radiate over me. I summoned every ounce of strength to pry my eyelids apart.

I was greeted by a very beige landscape. A wasteland.

The sun was shining over barren trees, patchy yellow grass, decaying signs and trailers. I turned, trying to make out my surroundings. I could see Sanctuary Hills.

My lungs failed me. I look out to where I once lived. Where my son lived. Where my husband lived.

It was ruined.

My shaky feet almost fail me, yet I pull myself together. A few yellow crates litter the area. Searching them, I found a few radaways, some cram, and a couple of 10mm rounds. I shove it into my backpack. Lord knows how old the cram was, but I tried to rationalize it to myself. I’m gonna need to eat. I need to find my son.

I needed to go to Sanctuary, I needed to see if anything was left. Was I the only person alive?

This idea was supported by the number of skeletons on the ground. The soldiers that let me in, my neighbours, my friends. Their corpses were completely barren. I’d been on ice for a long time. But just how long was that?

Forcing myself to remember how to breathe, I made my way down the slope, over the bridge, and down the street I once made my memories.

“As I live and breathe! It’s…you! It’s really you!”

I jumped at the noise. It couldn’t be.

“Codsworth? You’re still here. So maybe, other people could still be alive too?”

“Well of course I’m still here. Surely you don’t think a little radiation could deter the pride of General Atomic’s International?”

I’d never been so glad to see a robot in my life. He looked a little rusty and scuffed in places.

“But you seem a little bit worse for wear. Best not let the hubby see you in that state. Where is the sir, by the by?”

My chest tightened again. I lost my voice for a few moments.

“They…they came into the vault. Did you see them? They had guns…and strange outfits…and…”

“Oh Miss Ramona, these terrible things you’re saying, I believe you need a distraction. Oh yes, a distraction! To calm this dire mood. It’s been so long since we had a proper family activity. Checkers perhaps, or charades? Shaun does so love that game. Is the lad…with you?”

I felt like my heart was trying to escape my body.

“Codsworth. Please, listen carefully. Have you seen him? Have you seen Shaun?”

“Well…sir had him last. I’m sure they’ll be back momentarily…”

Codsworth’s denial was showing cracks.

“Why would someone take my baby?”

I sobbed. He was perhaps the only thing I could talk to in the world, and he just wasn’t understanding.

“It’s worse than I thought. You’ve got hunger induced paranoia! 200 years without a decent meal will do that, I’m afraid.

“200…years?”

“A little over 210 actually! Give or take a little for the earth’s rotation and some minor dings to the old chronometer. That means you’re two centuries late for dinner! Hahaha!”

“Codsworth, you aren’t acting right. What’s wrong?”

“I…I… Oh it’s been horrible! Two centuries with no one to speak to, no one to serve! I spent the first ten years trying to keep the floors clean! And trying to dust a collapsed house! Not to mention the car, how do you polish rust?”

I stared at him, trying to comprehend the time. 200 years. It felt like a nightmare.

“What do you know, Codsworth?”

“Nothing, I’m afraid. The bombs came and you all left in such a hurry… I thought for certain you had all… died. Now, enough feeling sorry for myself. Shall we search the neighborhood together? Sir and young Shaun may turn up yet.”

My feeble hands clutched the pistol I’d found in the vault, and we started looking for clues. House to broken down house, I tried to cling to the tiny shreds of hope I had.

Those first few houses had nothing but the odd chem or box of ammo. I made sure to grab anything worth taking. I had no idea what this world would give me, how much I’d have to defend myself, or how much aid I might need.

I knew I’d never find my son here, but maybe Codsworth could help me find my footing in this new world.


End file.
